Baby lead weaning terrifies me.. anyone else?

Honestly, I think it's best to go with whichever approach works best for that particular child.

For DC1 I was keen to baby lead wean, but he kept chocking and spluttering, and he just lapped up the purees (even that nasty cold stuff straight from a jar! 🤮)

So then for DC2, I was all ready to go with the purees, but he would not let me spoon anything into his mouth! He would only fed himself, so we did do the baby lead weaning in the end (luckily he seemed to manage with less choking than DC1).

Just go with what your child prefers is my advice!

I did a bit of both - whichever suits you and your baby I think.

I did pureed for dd1 and had a nightmare getting her onto solids,so did blw on dd2,she nows is a marvellous eater where dd1 is so picky,my mother used to panic awful saying she's choking where it was actually her gag reflex when food was too big to swallow,no choking ever occurred.
I was more terrified of giving grapes when older.

Is it your child or a grandchild?
If the later then go on a first aid course but it's also possible to follow blw easily with softer meals such as sausages and mash potatoes (you can remove the skin and then cut length ways into quarters). Or a thick soup on pre-loaded spoons.

If it's your baby then you don't need to do BLW if your not comfortable with it.

I did it with both of mine but because its what suited us best and they both took it to it and were extremely adamant even from a 6 months they were in control of spoons!

We did BLW for our two (now teens).

Absolutely loved it. Yes they gagged, but no choking. They were enjoying proper food in cafes and restaurants whilst we enjoyed our own food. Haven't pureed a single thing in my entire life!

BLW worked well for us. I couldn’t be faffed with puréing homemade food and didn’t like processed jars. I wasn’t frightened. They never choked just gagged.

I know however (because they told us) that extended (older) family definitely felt nervous and didn’t like it. So what you’re feeling us not unusual.

If you don’t like BLW and prefer purées then lumps then real food, do that. Millions nay billions of babies have been weaned that way.

I was a child minder for a decade . I obviously did it the way parents wanted to wean - however I found I felt far more relaxed doing the puree

One thing about raising babies/ children - there are many ways to do things - most are fine - your child will pick up on your anxiety so do it the way that works for you.

Even if you do traditional weaning you’re still supposed to offer finger foods from 6 months.

Ooo yeah I was proper scared. Everyone else was doing it and I felt I had to do the same but every time I gave mine anything it would result in weird choking noises. In the end I did a mixed approach where sometimes we tried purees, and sometimes I'd plonk spag bol or a chilli on the tray and the baby could just pick at it. The food was quite small and mushy so I didn't have to worry about choking as much. In the end we just worked our way up to bigger bits and different foods and it was fine. Just do what you're comfortable with. Your little one won't be still living off milk when they're 18. 😃 Good luck!

Agree with the first poster. We did a mixture of purées and solid foods, gradually working our way up. I watched some first aid videos on YouTube for what to do in case of choking which helped me feel less anxious.

I don't do it! Purées all the way. Gradually dabbled in finger food when felt comfortable. Sounds like you are the same as me and @SouthLondonMum22 op. No one NEEDS to 'do baby led weaning'. Listen to your gut.

Then don't do it.

I enjoyed it and found it worked well for my two. But as the PP says, you don't have to do it if it terrifies you.

I did a pre weaning first aid course via NCT that focussed a lot on what to do if a child chokes. Made me feel a lot more prepared for introducing solids. Might be worth looking into, assuming your fear is chocking?

Always start on puree. Then move onto soft things like well cooker Broccoli, porridge, pasta etc.

Why?

It didn’t terrify me but I didn’t do it, stuck to purées and working our way up to proper food.

Remember that you don’t have to do it just because it’s the popular thing to do right now.